Hexagonal sense cell architecture
US5872380A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 21, 1995 |
| Grant date | Feb 16, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 21, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH10D62/117
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Several inventions are disclosed. A cell architecture using hexagonal shaped cells is disclosed. The architecture is not limited to hexagonal shaped cells. Cells may be defined by clusters of two or more hexagons, by triangles, by parallelograms, and by other polygons enabling a variety of cell shapes to be accommodated. Polydirectional non-orthogonal three layer metal routing is disclosed. The architecture may be combined with the tri-directional routing for a particularly advantageous design. In the tri-directional routing arrangement, electrical conductors for interconnecting terminals of microelectronic cells of an integrated circuit preferrably extend in three directions that are angularly displaced from each other by 60.degree.. The conductors that extend in the three directions are preferrably formed in three different layers. A method of minimizing wire length in a semiconductor device is disclosed. A method of minimizing intermetal capacitance in a semiconductor device is disclosed. A novel device called a "tri-ister" is disclosed. Triangular devices are disclosed, including triangular NAND gates, triangular AND gates, and triangular OR gates. A triangular op amp and triod…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.